Not A Mistake

Sophie and Troy walk together towards his car after school. She holds her backpack steady on her back gripping the straps tightly with her hands; Troy gestures her to stop, placing a five-dollar bill inside the slot and grabbing two soda cans out of the machine for each of them.

"What? No soda for me? I get it, it's because I'm not long-haired and beautiful like Sophie huh?" Dylan startles them, walking behind them.

Troy chuckles and hands him his can of soda." I was kidding man, I'll get my own." Dylan smiles, pushing the soda back to Troy.

"Nah, it's cool. You can have it. I'll get another one." He says as he turns and places another bill and grabs another soda off the machine.

"Thanks, man. Are you sure?" Dylan asks as he looks at him with a smile.

"Yeah, it's fine. No worries. I Hope Cherry Pepsi is ok? It's my favorite." He looks at him and winks his eye.

"Yeah, it's fine. I prefer Dr. Pepper but, I see they only have Pepsi machines here. This will do fine. Thanks, Troy." Dylan smiles, opening the soda can and sipping from it, "I guess I'll see you two tomorrow. I'm off to practice." He says as he winks at both and walks away.

Troy looks at Sophie with a gleam in his eyes and bites his lower lip, making Sophie roll her eyes.

"That boy does shit that makes me have dirty daydreams. I can't! I just can't." He laughs widening his eyes.

"Oh gross T' I really don't need to know you're having dirty daydreams; or wet dreams for that matter. OH, I bet you already had those too, didn't you?" She squints her eyes and walks away, followed by Troy.

"Well! Can you blame me? Look at him. He's got this tight abs and man that six- no, that eight pack he's got going on Soph!"

She looks back with her eyes wide open. "You saw him naked already? Oh my god, Troy!" He giggles as she whispers her words to him to keep the conversation private.

"No bitch! I didn't see him naked, well, not completely. We went shopping yesterday, remember? He took off his shirt to try on a few shirts he bought yesterday, that's all." He shrugs his shoulders, muttering out his words to keep the conversation between the two as students walk past them.

She chuckles and hits his arm making him laugh. "You're so dirty-minded T. I bet you wished he'd bought a few pants too, didn't you?"

"Ugh! Yes. But that will be next time I suppose."

"Ok, no. No more. I really don't want to have to drag you into the lockers for a cold shower. Let's go eat somewhere, I'm starving." She says as she pushes him from his back and towards the exit of the school.

"So, I was thinking we could maybe order some pizza-" Troy's phone begins to vibrate, making him stop his conversation with Sophie, pushing his backpack towards his back and grabbing his phone out of his pocket.

He glances at the screen and sighs, the screen letting him know it's a call from his mom.

"Hello, ma'am." He answers in a low voice. A voice is heard on the other line, though not in a pleasant way.

"No ma'am. Ok, wait. You're leaving now? But-" he sighs, closing his eyes and turning away from Sophie, sitting on a nearby bench.

"Yes ma'am. But I- " he sighs again, fisting his hands tight and clenching his jaw.

"Yes ma'am. Have a safe fli-" The phone call ends before he can properly say goodbye to his mom. He runs his hand through his face and places his phone back in his pocket. Slowly he sits down, Sophie softly places her chin and arms on top of his shoulder as she takes a seat next to him.

He slowly places his cheek against her forehead and sighs.

"Hey! It's ok T. I'm here for you ok? What did she say?"

He sighs kissing her forehead and standing to his feet. "Could we maybe go somewhere we can have more privacy?" He asks as he looks at her with sadness in his eyes; students pass by every five seconds or so. Sophie grabs his hand, pulling him towards the football bleachers which most of the time after school are kept empty.

They both sit facing each other and slowly, she grabs his hands and sighs as he hangs his head.

"Ok talk! Your mom did not sound happy, what happened last night T? You haven't talked to me since yesterday after you came home from shopping. How did it go with your parents?"

He slowly looks at her and closes his eyes, moving his face away from her as he sighs deeply.

"Soph, it was a complete disaster. I was so scared to tell them. I panicked and just yelled it out during dinner. My mom started to cry, asking where did she go wrong with me as if she had really been the one to raise me instead of Grandma all these years. She acted as if she was going to faint, cursing me and calling me a mistake." His eyes filled with tears, his voice breaking and he hangs his head low.

Sophie's eyes fill with tears, but deep inside she feels a wave of great anger for him towards his parents.

"And your dad? How did he take it? He backed you upright?" She asks in a low voice, though she knows it's painful for him to reminisce over the event, she knows it will help him release all the tension he's holding inside and allows him to express himself, allowing him to talk things out.

"Oh god, don't even mention my dad Soph! He said and I quote." Troy emphasizes his words, bringing his hands in a quote gesture while rolling his eyes.

"No son of mine will turn out to be gay. Now you either straighten yourself out, or we are going to have a major problem here boy, Do you understand? All this bullshit of you saying you're gay is a load of crap. Now I suggest you straighten yourself out or you can forget about your mother and me giving you any further monetary support. I won't be made a fool of! You better keep this shit to yourself and forget about it or you will regret it." He says, changing his voice to a deeper tone, acting out as if it was his dad speaking for him.

Sophie clenches her jaw in anger. "How could they? Why would they say that to you, Troy?"

"That's not all babe! They said it was just a phase. That I needed to man up and stop talking nonsense. That they'd be back in four months, and if I didn't change my stupid ways of thinking, then I could forget about them taking care of me. Since I'll be legally old enough to take care of myself, then I'd either give them the good news of me no longer being sick, or they'd stop supporting me monetarily. Sick Sophie? They called it a sickness. A fucking sickness. As if I could take medication and I'll no longer be gay! Seriously?"

Sophie glares at the floor, standing to her feet and stomping the ground.

"Troy I'm sorry, but your parents are fucking assholes!" She raises her voice and fists her hands, making him look up at her. Though his heart is broken, he smiles at her reaction.

"Soph?"

"No! I mean it. If that's how they feel then fuck them!" His eyes widen, not being used to hearing Sophie curse other than her favorite word, asshole; which she usually uses to refer to Logan.

"You know what? Screw them! In four months, you and I will both be 18, if that's the way they see it then let it be. I can ask my dad for an after-school job at the bistro, and you and I can get an apartment and live together with your grandma. Forget them, Troy! There is nothing wrong with you. Do you understand me? Nothing! You are perfect the way you are. You're not just the sweetest, most caring person in the world, you're amazing in everything you do! And if they can't see that just because you're gay? Then they don't deserve to have you as their son! You're not sick. You're not broken. They are the ones that are sick in their heads do you understand me? YOU are perfect T!" Her breath shortens and she sighs deeply as he stands and pulls her into a hug, he hears her voice break and tears in her eyes.

"And this is why you are my best friend Soph! I knew I could count on you." He says as he embraces her tight and closes his eyes.

She slowly pulls away, cupping his face with both hands and kissing his cheek. "I mean it, Troy! You are the best guy I have ever met in this entire universe. Do you understand? Don't you dare allow them to make you feel that there is something wrong with you for being who you are?"

"Thank you, baby girl. And it won't be necessary to get an apartment. Though it sounds nice. But," He pulls her back down to sit next to him, holding her hands softly and caressing them with his finger. Slowly he retrieves a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes her face.

"Grandma went off on them while they continued to bash me for it, last night. She told them that if they couldn't accept me for who I was, then they were both no longer welcome in her house."

"Oh my god! I love your grandma T!" She says smiling, mimicking his wide smile as he reminisced the way his grandma had stood up for him.

"She wanted to go to dinner so we had a better chance to talk through this. But now that they are both leaving, I guess there's no need for me to go to that dinner tonight. And I guess, it's ok for you to go with Logan to work on your assignment if you want. I think I'll just go home and spend time with Grandma. She deserves a nice foot massage!" He says as he laughs and wrinkles the right side of his face.

Sophie giggles and places her chin on the back of his shoulder.

"Are you sure it's ok with you? I can always come back with you to your house. I don't mind spending the afternoon with you and your grandma?" She suggests, shrugging her shoulders.

"Mhm! Are you sure you're not just saying that so I can give you a foot massage too?" Troy chuckles, pressing on her knee making her laugh, knowing quite well it's one of her main tickle spots.

"Stop it! Don't do that!" She giggles as he reaches out pressing the top of her knee again and tickling her.

"Troy stop it! Please! You're gonna make me pee on myself!" She yells through her giggles as he continues to reach over pressing on both of the tops of her knees.

"Well, don't you two look compromisingly happy?" Logan sneers, his hands crossed and an angered look on his face, making Troy and Sophie jump in surprise.

Sophie clears her throat and fixes her hair while looking at Logan with a serious face. "Logan." She says in a serious tone and grips her backpack off the floor and places it on her back.

"Aren't you supposed to be in practice right now?" She squints her eyes as the sun hits her face.

"No. Coach Mitch canceled practice today. Something about him having a really important meeting somewhere or whatever." He says as he glances between Sophie and Troy.

"Look, I know you said we weren't going to meet because you're spending time with your boyfriend."

"Best friend. " Sophie corrects him, rolling her eyes as Troy holds his hand, biting his thumbnail and giggling.

"Whatever! I know you said you're spending your afternoon with him-" Logan points to Troy making Troy chuckle.

"Look man, don't worry. Something came up. So I guess Sophie is all yours. Alright? Just, don't try something shady with her." Troy says as he comes near Logan, looking at himself close to his face.

"Or I will kick your ass, Spencer! Believe me, I'll kick your ass if you hurt my girl!" Troy taunts him, making Logan clench his jaw and fist his hand, making his knuckles turn white.

"Anyway! See you later Soph! Love you, baby girl!" Troy says to Sophie as he sees Dylan on his bike and gestures towards him.

"Ok, see ya." She says as she kisses his cheek, making Logan's face turn red and closing his eyes.